Appeals court rules against Trump on DACA immigrant policy

Loyola Marymount University student and "Dreamer" Maria Carolina Gomez joins a rally in support of DACA in Los Angeles in 2017. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

A federal appeals court won't immediately let President Trump end an Obama-era program shielding young immigrants from deportation.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday decided to keep in place an injunction blocking Trump's decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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Lawsuits by California and others challenging the Trump administration's decision will continue in federal court while the injunction remains in place.

DACA has protected some 700,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas.

In January, U.S. District Judge William Alsup rejected the argument that President Obama had exceeded his power in creating DACA.

The Trump administration has said it moved last year to end the program because Texas and other states threatened to sue, raising the prospect of a chaotic end to DACA.

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